Wire clamp applying device



p 1, 1953 K. c. HART 2,650,510

WIRE CLAMP APPLYING DEVICE Filed March 27, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet l W INVENTOR KENNETH CHARLES HART,

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' WIRE CLAMP APPLYING DEVICE Filed March 27, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 4

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ATTORNEY 5 Patented Sept. 1, 1953 WIRE CLAM'P APPLYING DEVICE Kenneth Charles Hart, Redhill, England, assignor to The Distillers Company Limited, Edinburgh, Scotland, a British company Application March 27, 1950, Serial No. 152,097 In Great Britain April 8, 1949 1 Claim.

The present invention relates to an improved tightening device for wires and like materials.

Various mechanical devices are used for the purpose of applying tension to Wires, but for many purposes no suitable device, other than pliers or like tools, is available.

The present invention is a tool for use in tightening or applying tensionto wires which is characterised by two jaws which can be forced apart, wherein one of said jaws is provided with a guide through which the wire may pass and the other jaw is provided with means which automatically grip the wire as the jaws are movedapart and release the wire as the jaws come together, such as a spring loaded cam shaped lock or a link clamp, as described in greater detail hereinafter.

The tool according to the present invention is of particular value in the binding of tubes and like members of scientific apparatus such as the binding of a tube of pliable material to one of rigid material. Thus, for example, when setting upa chemical apparatus in. which glass tubing and rubber tubing are employed, frequently the glass-rubber joints in the apparatus are rendered gas tight by the application of. a copper wire band thereto, the copper wire being wound round thetube and tightened by twisting the free ends of the copper wire with pliers or like tools. This method has certain drawbacks since the copper wire joint formed is bulky and moreover it is very difficult to apply even tension to the copper wire merely by twisting the endslwith pliers. The tool accordingto the present invention, however, provides a simple method whereby the copper wire may be bound round tubes and other members both tightly and neatly. For this purpose the copper wire, doubled over on itself, is wound once round the tube or like object and the free ends of the wire threaded through the loop formed in the copper wire. The wire is tightened with the tool according to the present invention by passing the free ends of the wire through the jaw containing the guide, which rests against the tube or other object, and then through the other jaw provided with engaging means, and then merely forcing the jaws of the tool apart. By allowing the jaws to come together and then forcing them apart again, and repeating these operations, the binding wire can be tightened to the desired extent, and then the ends of the wire folded back to lock them to the loop. The wire can then be cut at a suitable pointa wire cutter or guillotine may be included in the tooland the cut ends neatly folded back over the wire. It is essential that the wire should be bent 2 over the loop before being cut as otherwise the tightened wire will release itself. Suitably the cutter included in the tool is provided with means such that the wire is bent over the loop in this way before being cut.

The jaws or members may suitably be pivoted together at their ends remote from the guide and gripping means, although. the jaws or members may be moved in parallel, rather than radial, relation to one another. The jaws may be spring loaded to each other and forced apart by a suitable lever mechanism, but the preferred embodiment of the invention is a tool which can be manually operated and which is described below solely by way of illustration.

The tool which can be manually operated comprises two levers pivoted together to form a handle and a pair of jaws such that when compression is applied to the handle the jaws are forced apart, one of said jaws being provided with a hole or like guide through which the Wires may pass andthe other jaw being provided with means which automatically grip the wire as the jaws are moved apart and release the wire as the jaws come together.

Figure l is a side elevational view of one embodiment of the. tool according to the present invention; Figure 2. is a partial top plan view of the relationship of parts of the upper lever accordingto Figure 1; Figure 3 is a partial top plan view of the relationship of parts of the lower lever according to Figure 1; Figure 4 is a side elevae tional view of another form of the tool; and Figure 5 is a partial top plan view of the relationship of parts according to Figure 4.

One form of the tool is illustrated in Figure 1 wherein the two levers are comprised of handles I and 2 and jaws 3 and 4 the upper lever being pivoted on pin 5 supported by two side plates aflixed to the lower lever. A spring 6 is fitted between the handles I and 2 as shown. The lower jaw 3 is provided with a hole I through which the wire may pass and the underside of this jaw is shaped to form a rest against the tube or other object which is to be bound with the wire. The upper jaw 4 is provided with a slot 8 in which the cam shaped lock 9 is fitted and which is loaded with leaf spring 10. The wire can then be pushed up through the look, but cannot be pulled down through the look. In the operation of the tool therefore, the binding wire or wires are passed through the hole I and the lock 9 so that the under side of the lower jaw 3 rests against the object to be bound. The wire can then be tightened by closure of the levers I and 2, the lower jaw being retained in position against said object. By opening the handles, the extended wire will slip through the lock 9 when the upper jaw is brought to the original position adjacent to the lower jaw, and the wire can be further tightened by reclosure of the handles I and 2. The construction of the cam shaped lock is shown more clearly in Figure 2, which is a plan of the upper lever of the tool.

This tool can also be provided with a guillotine, to cut the wire after the desired tightening, also illustrated in Figure 1 and in Figure 3, wherein the guillotine unit comprises the lever ll provided at one end with handle [2 and at the other with a, cam shaped butt l3, and which is pivvoted at M, and the slidable cutter l one end of which is engaged with the cam shaped butt I3 by means of a spring 16. By rotating the lever, the cutter I5 is forced over the hole I and thus cuts the wire. A stop is provided so that the lever can only rotate through 90.

In Figure 4 an alternative form of the tool is illustrated, wherein the lower lever I is of sub stantially the same construction as the lower lever l of the tool illustrated in Figure 1 so that a guide hole 1' is provided therein, but wherein the upper lever is composite, being comprised of the second lever or handle I! and the clamping head or jaw 18 which are separate units, independently pivoted on a common pin 19, supported between two side plates fixed to the lower lever. A leaf spring 20 is fitted between the handle [1 and the jaw I8, and a volute type spring 2| is fitted between the handles of the tool. A link clamp 22 encircles the upper jaw, passing between guide pins 23 on the upper jaw,

and through the hole 24 in the handle [1. The link 22 comprises a clamp member or bar 29 at the free end thereof. In the rest position, the jaws are in contact, and the volute spring 2|, which is stronger than the leaf spring 20 causes the handle I! to rotate relative to the jaw l8, thus causing the link to slide through its guide pins and thereby leaving a gap between the jaw l8 and the clamp member 26, through which the wire may be passed. The construction of the link clamp 22 is shown more clearly in Figure 5, which is a plan of the upper lever of the tool.

In the operation of the tool, the wire to be tightened is passed through the guide in the lower jaw, as previously described, and through the gap 25 between the link clamp 22 and the upper jaw l8. Having introduced the wire, pressure on the handles moves the upper handle I! relative to the jaw I8, which is kept in contact with the lower jaw by the leaf spring 20, this movement causing the link clamp to tighten on the jaw face until the wire is grippedbetween the two. When the link clamp is fully tightened further pressure on the handles causes the upper handle l1, upper jaw I8 and link 22 to move as a single unit, thus tightening the wire. As in the tool described in Figure 1, by opening the handles, the extended wire will slip through the gap formed between the upper jaw and the link clamp, and the upper jaw will return to its original position adjacent to the lower jaw. The Wire can be further tightened by reclosure of the handles of the tool. The tool is provided with a guillotine as illustrated in Figure 1 and described in the corresponding description above.

Other types of wire engaging means may be used in the tool in place of the cam shaped lock and link clamp illustrated in the drawings.

It should be noted that although the tool is illustrated only in a form suitable for manual compression, the present invention is not limited in this respect.

I-claim:

A clamping tool for use in applying tension to Wires which comprises a first lever provided at one and with a guide hole, a second lever, a clamping head, a link member and a clamp memher, said first lever being rigidly fixed at an intermediate position in the length thereof to said clamp member, the second lever and clamping head being independently pivoted to such clamp member on a common pin, the link member being pivoted to the second lever at an intermediate position in the length thereof and extending round the end of the clamping head remote from the end pivoted on said clamp member.

KENNETH CHARLES HART.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 507,872 Allen Oct. 31, 1893 1,553,110 Rich Sept. 8, 1925 2,009,897 Miller July 30, 1935 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 811,521 France Apr. 16, 1937 

